In addition to the funds we provide annually to the Mildred M. Hutchinson Chair of Urban Ministries in the Claremont School of Theology, the Urban Foundation gives grants to faith-based organizations working to improve the lives of residents in urban communities. We provide these grants through two programs: Seeds of Hope and Partnership Grants.
To learn how to apply for a grant, click here.

Seeds of Hope Grants

Central City Community Outreach, which builds community in downtown L.A.’s Skid Row area, with a focus on reaching children and youth in homeless families or in extremely low -income housing. Seeds of Hope funding helps youth in the afterschool club stay in school or get a GED, and prepare for job-training programs and college.

Jubilee Consortium, which includes a group of Episcopal churches working to create healthy and just neighborhoods through enrichment opportunities and leadership programs, such as its Alternatives to Violence youth sports program.

Lancaster United Methodist Church, whose Footprints Christian Children Center" Kids’ Club provides before and afterschool programs for low-income children with activities designed to improve nutrition, increase physical activity and involve parents through music and movement activities.

New City Parish, an urban coalition of Evangelical Lutheran churches that works to transform Los Angeles, Inglewood and Compton through holistic ministries and social outreach. Urban Foundation funds help support meals, health and wellness activities at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.

North Valley Caring Services, located on the campus of San Fernando First United Methodist Church, which provides educational, fun and safe interactive activities in a neighborhood with heavy gang activity. Homework help, gardening, sports, and field trips are among a variety of activities available to youth.

Peace Center of United University Church, which offers a Peacemaking Academy, a Summer Peace Camp, Peace Kids, and a Youth Leadership `Academy. These programs are designed to teach practical non-violent conflict resolution skills and create peace and justice activists.

Pico Union Shalom Hispanic Ministry, located in Pico Union, which provides social services to the residents of Casa Shalom and the surrounding neighborhood. Pico Shalom has launched a new exercise and nutrition program with Urban Foundation funds.

Stevens Bryant Youth Organization, located in Pomona, which offers the Loving Hands Program, one of the few faith-based afterschool gang prevention programs in the area. Urban Foundation grant funds help support computer training, healthy snacks, field trips and tutoring to school-aged youth in a caring environment.

The Neighborhood/La Vecindad is a Long Beach-based urban community of faith that is holistic, multicultural, multi-economic, and multi-lingual. There the Urban Foundation is supporting Fitness 4 All, a marathon training program incorporating running/walking, yoga, strength training, healthy eating and nutrition education for elementary-school aged children from lower-income families living in Downtown Long Beach

Partnership Grants

Partnership Grants are grants that the Urban Foundation provides in collaboration with larger foundations or other funding agencies. The Urban Foundation’s Partnership Grants are by invitation only. We do not accepted unsolicited proposals for Partnership Grants.

These grants are usually targeted to specific initiatives and offer grantees multi-year funding at higher amounts than the Seeds of Hope grants provide, along with dedicated technical assistance. We work hand in hand with Partnership Grantees to identify areas in which they need support and then we work with partner organizations and affiliated consultants to strengthen grantees’ capacity. These are some of the areas in which the Urban Foundation has provided support and training to Partnership Grantees:

• Board development
• Budget development and expense tracking
• Event planning
• Grantwriting
• Leadership development
• Strategic planning
• Scenario planning
• Conflict transformation
• Multicultural relations
• Working with at-risk youth
• Influencing public policy
• Volunteer recruitment and training
• Asset Based Community Development Training
• Community outreach

Our most recent round of Partnership Grants were offered from 2005-2008 with support from the California Wellness Foundation. We provided three-and-a-half-year Partnership Grants to “build the capacity of religious congregations and institutions to improve health outcomes in their communities.” The goal was to establish a model for foundation-church partnerships that would strengthen the ability of church-based programs to provide health access and advocacy. Two churches in medically underserved communities in South Los Angeles were selected as Partnership Grantees: Rakestraw Memorial Community Education Center and St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. Click here for a printable slideshow summarizing the evaluation of the church-based health education and advocacy project that our Partnership Grants funded.

At both sites, the project recruited and trained 35 health promoters who organized and offered exercise classes, health and wellness information classes (e.g. “Managing Diabetes,” “Healthy Cooking Options”), and reached out to community members through weekly food distribution, hot meals, and other services. In all, the project reached over 1,500 unduplicated residents of South Los Angeles. Health promoters were also introduced to several health advocacy networks and they in turn trained residents to navigate health care systems that might seem intimidating and overly bureaucratic.

Community health fairs were another major activity funded by our Partnership Grants. With assistance from our Partnership Grantee St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, the Urban Foundation prepared a guide for faith-based organizations on how to organize community health fairs with limited resources. Click here to download this bilingual how-to guide.

How to Apply

The Urban Foundation’s Partnership Grants are by invitation only. We do not accept unsolicited proposals for Partnership Grants. We accept proposals for Seeds of Hope grants only once a year, in the month of October. We do not accept unsolicited proposals for Seeds of Hope grants throughout the year.

While we will consider applications that address any demonstrated need of an urban neighborhood or community, we are particularly interested in funding projects and organizations working to provide positive opportunities for children and youth, such as afterschool programs and youth leadership training. Particular consideration is given to programs in low-income neighborhoods in Central and South Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley and Long Beach.

An organization or project is eligible to apply for funding from the Seeds of Hope fund if it meets all of the following criteria:

• Based in Los Angeles County
• Seeks to meet an urgent demonstrated need in an urban community
• Faith-based, meaning either that it is affiliated with a religious congregation, or that the project contains a significant spiritual element

Churches and religious congregations are encouraged to apply, but funds should be used for projects that serve the broader community, as opposed to programs that primarily serve the internal congregation. For example, an afterschool program that assists youth in the neighborhood surrounding a church would be eligible for funding; a Bible Study or other program that benefits just church members would not.

We will post grant applications for Seeds of Hope grant applications for the upcoming year on this website in September and final grant decisions will be made by the Urban Foundation’s Grant Review Committee in November. Groups awarded Seeds of Hope grants will receive funds in one lump sum in December, though funds are to be applied to the next year’s program activities. Click here for additional information on the Seeds of Hope grant program.

Past Urban Foundation Grantees

Over the past decade, more than 50 organizations in Los Angeles County have received Urban Foundation funding, including:

1010 Development Corporation
Angel Interfaith Network
Bowen Community Network
Bowen Memorial United Methodist Church – Friday Night Live
Bridges Children's Program
California-Pacific Annual Conference of United Methodist Church
Calvary United Methodist Church
Central City Community Outreach
Children Youth and Family Collaborative
Children's Learning Center
Claremont School of Theology – Urban Leadership Institute
Crenshaw United Methodist Church
Dominguez United Methodist Church
Door of Hope
Echo Park United Methodist Church
El Rescate
Full Gospel Baptist Church
Hollywood First United Methodist Church
Hollywood Interfaith Sponsoring Committee
Institute of Public Education of Southern California (IDEPSCA)
Jubilee Consortium
Kiamsha Girls Empowerment Program
Kid City South Park / First United Methodist Church Los Angeles
Koreatown Community Center
L.A. Voice - PICO
Lancaster United Methodist Church – Footprints Christian Center
Los Angeles Community Action Network
Martin Luther King, Jr. United Methodist Church
North Long Beach United Methodist Church
North Valley Caring Services
Peace Center of the University Church
Perkins School of Theology
Pico Union Shalom Hispanic Ministry
Pueblo Nuevo
Rakestraw Memorial Community Education Center
Southern California Association for Philanthropy – L.A. Urban Fund
Shalom Ministries Project
Shalom Zone Urban Development
Simi Valley Community Care Center
Sin Fronteras Transitional Skills Project
South Park Neighborhood Center
St. Mark's Lutheran Church
St. Paul's United Methodist Church - Project Needs
Stevens Bryant Youth Organization
Su Casa Tafesilafa'l
Toberman Settlement House
United Methodist Ministries - Los Angeles District
United Campus Ministries – University of Southern California
United University Church
Van Nuys United Methodist Church
Wesley Foundation
Wilmore Urban Agency
Zaferia Shalom Zone Agency